NYE Festivities with Mal Smiles

You may already know that Mal is not only a blog bestie of mine, but a real life one too. About once or twice a year I'm lucky enough to get to see the smile in person. We make the long distance friendship work, but the fact that her parents live right by me helps juuuuust a bit! 

For the second year in a row, we were able to celebrate New Year's Eve together and this time I was able to meet Little Miss CKW. This adorable little sweetie is just as cute in person. I can't wait for her to be old enough to play with Ella! Here's a little glimpse at our low-key NYE fiesta. My friend Liz and her husband came over to have some laughs with us as well, it was a good time as you can probably tell!

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Hey there, 2015!

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Our little family is back from NY after an extremely GREAT time! Traveling home last night was a bit of a nightmare, but we're home and cozy...and that's all that matters. Daddy had to go to work this morning, and Ella and I were up and out super early to get ready for our New Year's celebration with some very special peeps later tonight. I'm still decompressing from the chaos of traveling, but I'll be back very soon to share a few highlights from this past week. 

2014 was a wonderful year for us, full of so many memories of our sweet growing girl! I can't wait to see what's next in 2015! Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

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X-Mas in NY

I'm psyched! The Babes, Hubs and I are New York bound for Christmas. Last year we didn't go so we're long overdue for a holiday visit! They say there's "no place like home for the holidays" and although I believe this to be true AND I'm super excited about this visit...Florida is feeling more and more like home so I'm not sure how much longer the saying will apply for (It's been over 5 years)! Besides that...there's no denying that I'm a New Yorker at heart! I'm truly excited for Ella to have a NY Christmas this year and to be with ALL of our family! It's going to be a jam-packed, fun-filled visit and I know she will have a blast with all of her grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins! I counted 16 little(ish) cousins! Whoa baby, she's going to be in her glory! 

First we need to get there. You know me, I'm slightly nervous about the plane ride. This time I'm not equipped with goodie bags for our flight neighbors in case she freaks out the whole way there. Ain't nobody got time for that! Something had to give and that was it! Wish us luck! Ella isn't the best at sitting on laps but she will just have to deal. I've got stickers, crayons, movies, books and the iPad...so we should be okay! 

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do while I'm there. I'll take it day by day and see how it goes but not counting on it just in case it's craziness! We will be home on the 30th and then we have a special visit with Mal, DLW and Collins! So much to look forward to! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and cherish every moment spent with loved ones because that's exactly what we're doing! YaY! Be back soon! 

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Santa's First Visit

There's an awesome holiday weekend in progress over here. It's almost perfect too....who knew that losing your voice would be so frustrating? It's not like I imagined it would be a walk in the park but this has been a whole level of annoying that I never thought possible. My family is up from South Florida for Christmas (Part 1) and not being able to communicate with everyone has definitely put a bit of damper on our celebration for me. On Friday night when they arrived my voice was ridiculously raspy. Saturday morning I woke up and it was completely gone. So far this morning it doesn't seem to be much better so who knows how long this will last. Thankfully I took the day off tomorrow to take Ella to her 15 month checkup. Isn't it funny how sometimes things like that work out. I can't even imagine how much work I would be able to get accomplished without a voice. Now let's hope it's back by Tuesday!

Yesterday morning we woke up to see what Santa brought our little lady. Boy, was he good to her!?! Look at her go!

It was a nice day of staying home and playing with all Ella's new toys. A dollhouse, shopping cart, rocker, mega blocks, baby crib and more..she's totally overwhelmed, in a good way of course! I'm pretty sure we were all into it more than or at least as much as she was. My cousin Kristen made fake breakfast for everyone (quite the spread) before we all had real breakfast. Obviously the kitchen set is a BIG hit! Hubs and I did extensive research on kitchen sets and play food before making final decisions. Worth it!

How adorable is this "Owl-ivia" rocker?! Hey Aunt Donna....I think she likes it! 

A video posted by Stephanie Skoblicki (@stephcial) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:25am PST

Stephen took a ride to Home Depot with Uncle John and picked up our new BBQ (house/X-mas gift from Uncle John and Aunt Laura, OMG). Expect some grilling to be in the upcoming meal plans! Tis' the season still down here! After nap time for both Ella and I, we went out to dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants. I communicated via text, but there was SO much I wanted to say and express...like how thankful I am for our family, and what a beautiful day it was. Love them all so much! In 10 days we will be doing it all over again in New York! In the meantime, let's hope my voice comes back soon because I can hardly wait to ask my baby girl how she likes her kitchen set!!! From the looks of it though, I'd say she is very grateful. 

Stephen and I are pretty adamant about establishing our own traditions here in our new home. This was a great way to start! We're so thankful that Aunt Laura, Uncle John, Kristen and Nikki were able to be a part of Santa's very first visit! There will also be a lot of thanking to do when we see everyone in NY soon! There were quite a few large boxes under the tree yesterday morning we obviously wouldn't be able to travel back with! You're all so good to our sweet girl! Now back to Christmas Part 1 and a big cup of tea! 

*Sunday meal planning fail....expect that tomorrow instead!

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DIY Wreath - #BURLAPSMELLSWEIRD

This is how it all went down on Saturday.... I watched a 2 minute tutorial on how to make a burlap wreath, next thing I know I'm booking it to Joann's for materials. Forty bucks later, I'm back home with the brilliant plan to make not one, but TWO wreaths. In the time it took for me to watch Christmas Vacation I was able to complete one large wreath for inside above my media console and another regular sized (?) one for our front door. 

I'm not going to even try to call this a tutorial. There isn't much to explain, I wasn't joking when I said it was just a two minute video that explains all you need to know. 

Click HERE for the video. 

I used an 18-inch and a 24-inch wire wreath frame, which took 3 roles of burlap (I believe each role had 10 yards). The flowers are just weaved into the wire frame. I was going to attempt some hot glue gun action, but I'm glad I left well enough alone. The plan is to maybe swap the flowers out and recycle these wreaths for another holiday or maybe just turn them into something "everyday". I'm going burlap crazy up in here. Fun fact, burlap does in fact smell weird....it also makes a mess so lay out a blanket and don't wear your good leggings! Use the hashtag #burlapsmellsweird if you make one so I can see! Let me know if you have questions, I feel like I'm not being specific enough!

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Good Thing I Wore My Thanksgiving Pants

This is a random assortment of photos to recap our Thanksgiving trip. Maybe it's because my main mission was to capture a non-blurry picture of Ella in her pretty dress? No joke, I sat down for a good ten minutes last night and just deleted tons of photos which were complete duds. As I was putting this collage together I couldn't help but notice how much I didn't capture! Note to self...next time be the girl who is constantly making people stop to say "cheese"! Good thing my cousin got this fun group shot of all the "kids" (quotes because Stephen and I are old). I love this picture because half of us were serious, and the rest of us still thought we were supposed to be making funny faces. 

We just got home last night. It was a quick but fun trip full of new memories. All kinds of "Thanksgiving-y" yuminess was consumed. Ella had a blast eating up all the extra attention (the video won't embed in this post...so you can watch it here). Can't you tell she was in her element? Hopefully you all had a great holiday as well! Now on to the next one...it's beginning to look a lot like you know what around here!

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Thankful in So-Flo

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I hope you're all having a cozy morning, watching the parade and getting ready to spend this day with all your loved ones. We are doing just that right now...down in South Florida visiting family, prepping lots of yummy food while chasing after our sweet little toddler. 

Is it possible for my heart get extra full each year? Somehow that's what it feels like. Last year Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning with the newest addition to our family. Here I am a year later and it seems as though my gratitude has doubled if that was even possible. A lot has happened in just one year. There have been many changes, lots of growth and much to be grateful for. 

This is my favorite time of year! From Thanksgiving to Christmas and everything in between. Enjoy every moment!  Happiest Thanksgiving!

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Happy 4th From Savannah

Happy Fourth of July! I'm in Savannah having a LOVELY time with my family (this is the assumption....I scheduled this post in advance)! My parents and brother drove down, and my Aunt Laura, Uncle John, cousins and us drove up. Here's a glimpse of the insanely gorgeous house we're renting for the week in the historic district... 

That kitchen!!! I scoured Pinterest for festive Fourth of July themed recipes before we left. I may have to try a few out depending on how adventurous I'm feeling. Here's one that is most likely to come to fruition....

The Sparkler

I hope you all have a safe & Happy Fourth!!!

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Daddy's Day + What's cooking this week?

First of all, Happy Father's Day! To my Daddy (the handsome dude in the photo above), thank you for always being there for me, supporting and guiding me into becoming who I am today. I love being your sidekick, some things will never change. When I was little you were "World's Best Dad"...and I hope you know that you still hold the title! As an added bonus, thank you for this kick-ass sense of humor (as Mom would say - "yoo-mah")! We hope you're having the perfect day golfing, we can't wait to see you in only FOUR days (and a wake-up). 

To my father in-law Dad Sko - professional father (of SIX) & grandfather (of TEN)- we miss you bunches and hope you're having an incredible trip of a lifetime in the UK! We can't wait to hear all about it! 

To my Hubs, thank you for being an awesome dad to our little sweetie. Ella is a lucky girl and she already knows it! No one makes her smile and giggle like you do! You're rocking this whole first-time-dad thing just like I knew you would. XOXO

I'm keeping things pretty simple in the cooking department this week for two reasons...

1. I go back to work tomorrow (just for a week though).

2. My parents are coming to visit!!! My mom will be here on Tuesday night, and my dad will be here on Thursday night! Yessssss!

Tonight: Taco Night!!!
Monday: Balsamic Burgers again (leftover meat in the freezer from last week, so why not)
Tuesday: Perfect Oven Baked Chicken Wings
Wednesday: Crock Pot Tomato Basil Soup & Caprese Chicken Paninis 
Thursday: Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Taco Salad
Friday: Mom Sko's Pierogies and Kielbasa

Enjoy your Sunday and week ahead!

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You know you're a mom when...

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mammas out there...especially Mom Sco and Mom Sko!!! Oh how I wish Ella and I could spend the day with them today! Even though I was lucky enough to spend last weekend with my mom at the beach, I miss her already! Also Happy Mother's Day to all the new mommy's I know! Surely your sweet babies will treat you extra good today! XO

Obviously I'm very excited about my first Mother's Day! My friend Jaime told me she's taking her son Sawyer swimming for the first time, which gave me the idea to do the same with our little lady! She has yet to go all the way IN the water...should be interesting! A laid back day of fun in the sun with my girl? Yes please! 

It hasn't quite been a year that I've been a part of the "Mom Club". I'm not claiming to be a pro by ANY means, but I feel as though at this point I've put enough time in to be able to talk about some clear cut signs that you're a mom. Here are TEN, I'm sure many of you can relate!

1. Poop, pee, spit up, boogers...or any other mystery fluid you find around...none of it phases you anymore. 

2. You've slept with a burp cloth by your face. No, it's not clean. Why would it be?

3. You know the theme songs for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First - all of them. You also have them stuck in your head more often then not. 

4. You often eat dinner standing up, over the sink...in record setting time. 

5. You could do some serious damage at Target like you're in an episode of "Supermarket Sweep". It's a skill really. 

6. Anytime there's a recall on anything baby related, your e-mail and Facebook messages blow up. Thank god for those people keeping you in the loop! Who has time to keep up on the news?

7. You find yourself doing a lot of the things YOUR mom did that you swore you'd never do. And so it begins...

8. You've had lengthy talks with your husband about poop (consistency, texture, color, smell). Some days it's the only conversation. This happened most often during the first three months, but still occurs from time to time. 

9. The only way to take more photos is to delete a few off of your phone to make space. Usually there are a few blurry ones that could go, but it's still a little sad to get rid of it for good. 

10. You've actually started a conversation with "the funniest thing happened on (insert children's TV show here)"! And then you tried to find the clip on YouTube!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Our Easter

We usually drive down to South Florida to spend Easter with family, but this year they all came up to us to celebrate. I've got to admit, there's something special about having a holiday at home! It makes me feel like such a grown up! 

Of course this year was EXTRA special being that it was Ella's first Easter. We don't have any pictures with the Easter Bunny since he is seriously creepy.  My apologies! I took a little flack for that one. Apparently it's some rite of passage that I deprived my child of. Regardless of the "creepy factor"...that bunny seriously spoiled her! Maybe he's not such a bad guy? 

I tried to get a good picture of Ella in this adorable dress from my cousin Jeannie. She moves too much - it's impossible! This is the best I could do! I guess I'll have to get used to blurry pictures from now on!

We had dinner on the deck at one of my favorite restaurants. The food was insane! Baked feta, stuffed artichoke hearts, shrimp bisque....ohhhh man! We all had a great time, especially the little lady! This just might be our newest tradition!

Speaking of tradition, our eggs came out adorable. Check out the "Dapper Dozen"...

Hope you all had a lovely Easter Sunday too!

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The Sweetest Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!
Hubby and I are very excited about celebrating with our little sweetie! I'll be counting down the minutes until I can come home tonight (after I chaperone the Valentine's Day dance) and kiss those chunky cheeks. It won't be unlike every other night, but still! These photos from our quick Valentine's photo sesh yesterday were just too cute not to share!

Ella even brought some Valentines in for her friends at "school" today!
(I just had to!)

Hope it's a great day with the ones you love!

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Congrats On Your Face

I'm home sick with a nasty stomach bug for the second day now. All I've been able to keep down is Cheerios and bread (not toast, just plain old bread). Ella is getting her snooze on and I'm waiting for someone to help me unlock the next level of Pet Rescue Saga. That my friends is an open invitation to do a little pinning and blogging. I can't even remember the last time I had a chance to sit down and immerse myself in Pinterest for an extended period of time AND update the blog! This definitely doesn't mean I'm happy about being sick...I'm just trying to look on the brights side. 

Speaking of positivity...it's National Compliment Day, who knew? Well I knew. I'd like to extend the following compliment to my local news - you rock, thanks for always keeping me so informed! My first two years as a Guidance Counselor (the glory days), I brought Kindness Week to the school! One whole day during that week was dedicated to writing compliments for one another. I took on the task of delivering them all (after screening them for appropriateness...it is middle school after all). It was SO. MUCH. FUN! I would love to revive Kindness Week. It's on the to-do list fo' sho'!

A day of compliments is great however I believe in compliments year round! What better way to brighten someones day? Honestly it is something I do often. Some may think of me as an "over-complimenter". It happens to be my "go to" method of breaking an awkward silence. This might be my new favorite, if you get this one from me you know I really care:

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Here is another good one from my favorite movie Bridesmaids:

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Like most people, I'm guilty of not being able to accept a compliment. Sometimes you should just say "thank you" and go with it. Is it too late for a resolution? This is SO me...guilty!

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So I've officially (finally) decided, my resolution is to work on accepting compliments and also to give out more. Would that make me an "over-over-complimenter"? I've already started. I'm surprised neither of them asked me what I wanted...

Okay this has been fun but my little lady is waking up. Taking care of a baby while being sick is not easy! Luckily, Hubs is on his way home.
*Stephen, you are such an incredible husband and father - I couldn't do any of this without you! Oh, and congrats on your face you handsome man! Consider yourself complimented! 

Happy National Compliment Day Friends...now go make someone smile!

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Some "Christmas-y" Things

Looking back at my past few blog posts, it's occurred to me that I haven't shared anything about Christmas! Silly me! This is completely cray considering we celebrated not once, but twice! First I've got to start off with our adorable Tiny Prints Christmas cards!

Even the back is cute! I kept trying to picture what our very first family Christmas card would look like, and they did not disappoint at all! This is one for the scrapbook for sure. 

Christmas part one was down with family in South Florida (on the actual day), and part two was a week after when my parents came to visit. Ella's first Christmas was a memorable one. She may not remember it, but Stephen and I certainly will. I'm SO looking forward to creating our very own family traditions...I'm going all out! I've already got some ideas for next year. Who's counting the days? I AM - only 352 more days! Ok fine, the last thing I want to do is rush this next year. Ella is already growing up way too fast, but it's nice to have something to look forward to! Here are some of my favorite moments from a very special and memorable holiday season...

And of course, none of it would feel complete without baking Grandma's Jelly Buttons! Now my baby girl is a part of the tradition. It doesn't get much better than that!

 

Happy New Year

I've been just a smidge busy enjoying loads of family time...hopefully you are all doing the same! Still, I had to pop in to wish you all a very Happy New Year from my family to yours!

2013...My Favorite of All My Years!

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The title says it all, 2013 was by far the most incredible year. The awesomeness literally started from day one. Well technically it started from the day before day one. This time last year is when I found out I was pregnant! We were traveling home from our Christmas trip to New York on New Years Eve. I had suspected I might be pregnant but like the past three or four months prior I thought I was just getting my hopes up or playing mind games with myself. What I should have done was buy a pregnancy test BEFORE we left NY instead of waiting until I came home. It would have been nice to tell my parents in person, however the look of shock on their face when we told them via FaceTime only hours after we said goodbye to them was pretty priceless (I'm so impatient)!

My sweet brother knew just how special this past year has been for me (obv), and had my blog posts from 2013 turned into a book! Yes, a book!!! I've said I always wanted to do this some day, but let's face it...when on earth would I have gotten around to that?!? This was the perfect gift in so many ways. What a thoughtful little bro...love him!

Naturally my entire pregnancy and the birth of Ella Rose were the highlights of such a phenomenal year!
Here are my favorite posts from 2013:
The cat's out of the bag
It's A Girl
My First Bumpdate @ 17 Weeks
The Start of Boys Behind The Blog
My favorite #NOtivation post
My Last Bumpdate @ 38 Weeks
Ella Rose is here!
I'm a MOM!
Ella's Birth Story

I'm looking forward to watching my little lady grow and reach new milestones over the next year!
2014 has A LOT to live up to!
Happiest New Year Friends!